Whose side are you on? When it comes to what kind of America we will have in the future, that we will hand down to our children, the battle lines are being drawn, opposing sides are marshalling their forces and counting their numbers. Yes, those that would wish to see a new America through the vision of President Barack Obama, an America washed free of the capitalistic free market and its Christian foundations, have never been closer to seeing this scarlet dream come alive. For those who would wish to hold together the constitutional representative republic brought forth by the founding fathers, the country as they have known it appears to be slipping through their fingers. Each side actively sounds their bugles and screams to the nation, "whose side are you on?"

The fact that the battle for the future of the country can be accurately described as a "war" is unsettling to many, and rightly so, as it evokes the mental pictures of harsh confrontations with an inevitable image of the final victor and also the vanquished. What the proclamation of such a conflict does not depict are the subtle ways in which wars are fought, won, and lost.

In my book Feeding Lions: Sharing The Conservative Philosophy In A politically Hostile World, a book written before President Obama had been crowned, before the creation of his jack-booted czars, or Whitehouse "flag e-mail" accounts, or any of the others woes we now associate with "hope and change," I indentified what kind of battle would be fought for this country and who would be the combatants. I will share a portion of this simple, but powerful, truth with you now.

The battle for the heart and soul of this country has always been, and will always be an ideological contest. Every physical action, whether it is the commercials that emerge on your television to the swishing sound of the President's pen as he strikes a new law into motion, these actions are set forth by an ideological belief system that is engrained within the individual. With that said, the two contending ideologies are that of the modern liberal and the modern conservative. If we care to cut through the fluff and get to the heart of the matter, the building blocks of what make up the modern conservative; that is, the values of God, Family, and Country, are in direct opposition to the philosophy of the modern liberal, with their atheistic Marxian quest for utopia. To quip over the accuracies of this truth is to toll in needless frivolities.

The road to victory for either side goes beyond money, flyers, and infomercials. Victory is found on the side that articulates a viable ideological way forward for this country that resonates with the largest amount of people. This is the part I always enjoy because of the obvious evidence that the majority of the nation adheres to conservative values. However, a belief system that is not inspired and invigorated will remain dormant and ineffective.

To this point, the Republican Party deserves a strong critique. The Republican Party, the most viable place where conservative values can be victorious, has failed to take the battle to the Democrat Party and Barack Obama. This is most tedious to watch as Obama has worked so hard to destroy himself with an assembly line of catastrophic plans for the country. It has been the American people, not the Republican Party, who have stepped up to the front lines to defend the nation against a totalitarian, free-market killing, White House. This herculean effort by the American people to oppose the socialistic whip to their backs is not indefinitely sustainable, nor should it be. A responsible Republican Party must take charge now to supplement the American effort taking place with clearly articulated alternatives to the Obama initiatives that first and foremost reflect conservative values.

If it is true that there can never be another Ronald Reagan, then let us at least grasp and apply the Reagan format for victory. It was by placing the conservative ideology first, in clear articulation and practice, that Reagan showed the world that where the heart and mind goes, all else will follow. It is time for the Republican Party to reach deep within themselves and grab hold of the conservative values by which all their political victories have been rooted upon and to place that banner at the front of the battle lines in this time of war. It is with this clarity of vision, this purity of heart, that the rolls will overflow with the names of Americans ready to fight on any and every battlefield required to protect the greatest nation on the earth.

Paul A. Ibbetson

Dr. Paul A. Ibbetson is a former Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. Paul received his Bachelor's and Master's degree in Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and his PhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of several books and is also the radio host of the Kansas Broadcasting Association's 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 award winning, Conscience of Kansas airing across the state. Visit his website at www.ibbetsonusa.com. For interviews or questions, please contact ibbetson91.9@<NOSPAM>gmail.com